Mail box signal



Sept. 23, 1958 E. A. HAYS 2,853,230

- MAIL BOX SIGNAL Filed March 5, 1958 INVENTOR.

inn? )4. Hays United States Patent MAIL BOX SIGNAL Emil A. Hays, Beaver Falls, Pa.

Application March 3, 1958, Serial No. 718,680

2 Claims. (Cl. 232-35) The present invention relates to mail box signal and has application to the conventional rural mail box mounted upon a post at the side of the road convenient for the reach of a mailman in an automobile collecting and delivering mail, such mail box being located at a considerable, distance from the residence of the owner,

and the primary object of the invention is to provide such mail box with a signalling device so constructed and arranged that the signal is normally inoperative but will be projected to a display position visible from the residence whenever the mailman places mail in the box.

Another object of the invention is to provide such a mail box signal in which by the act of opening the door of the box to place mail therein the signal will be tripped into a signal display position.

A further object of the invention is to provide a mail box signal of few and simple parts characterized by its simplicity and reliability in operation, which is of such nature that it may be sold independently of the box and readily and quickly attached to the box without the aid of skilled labor, which may as readily be removed from the box and attached to other mail boxes and which is economical in original cost, operation and'maintenance.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, the invention will be more fully described hereinafter, and will be more particularly pointed out in the claims appended hereto. 1

In the drawings, wherein like symbols refer to like or corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of a conventional rural mail box equipped with a signalling device in accordance with the invention in which the signal is an upright or non-signalling position.

Figure 2 is a rear end elevational view of the same.

Figure 3 is a side elevational view similar to Figure 1 but with the door of box open and the signal dropped to display position.

Figure 4 is a rear end elevational view of the same.

Figure 5 is an isometric view showing the parts in the position of Figures 1 and 2.

Figure 6 is also an isometric view showing the parts in the position of Figures 3 and 4.

Referring more particularly to the drawings 10 designates the body of a conventional rural mail box, 11 the bottom and 12 the rear end Wall thereof.

The box is accessible through a door 13 movable upon the pivots 14 to the closed position of Figure 1 or the open position of Figure 3. Spring catch members 15 and 16 of a complemental nature are secured respectively to the box body and to the upper free end of the door 13 for securing the latter in the closed position of Figure 1.

Pursuant to the invention a signal flag or other form of signal elements 17 is mounted to one side of a signal post 18, the post being aflixed to a rotary and slidable shaft 19 mounted in bearings 20 affixed to the box bottom. A trigger 21 stems angularly off the other end portion of the shaft 19 at a point near the front end of the box and in the path of the lower edge portion of the 2 door- 13. The shaft 19 cross section and the post 18 and trigger 21 angularly bent ends thereof.

A detent 22 in the form of a pin is mounted so as to project from the rear wall 12 of the box in a manner to retain the post 18 inthe upright'position of Figures 2 and 5.

The box is also illustrated as equipped with the usual flag 23 -mounted upon a mast 24 carried pivotally bya mounting bracket 25 on the side of the body 10. This flag 23 may be raised to the display position of Figure 1 to notify the postman that there is mail to be collected; or such flag may be lowered manually to the position of Figure 3 in which it is out of signalling or display position.

In the use of the device, it will be understood that the parts 17-22 inclusive may be mounted upon the box at the time of its manufacture or the same may be sold as a unit package quite independently of'the box and later installed upon the box by the owner thereof.

The parts are normally in the position of Figures 1, 2 and 5 in which the flag 17 is in the raised inoperative position. In this position the post 18 is substantially upright and rests against the detent pin 22 as clearly shown in Figures 2 and 5. The trigger 21 in Figure 1 extends in a downward direction substantially from the angular direction of the post 18.

Accordingly, when the postman opens the door 13 from the position of Figure l to that of Figure 3 the lower edge of the door will strike the depending trigger 21 and shift the shaft 19 axially in a rearward direction through the bearings 20 to an extent to move the post 18 off the support or detent 22. It will 'be understood that the length of this detent 22 from the rear wall 12 to the rear free end of the detent is shorter than the degree of the slidable movement of the shaft 19 imposed thereupon by the opening movement of the door 13. Hence, by this action the post 18 is freed from the restraint of the detent 22 and the post 18 and flag 17 may thereupon by gravity drop to the position of Figures 3 and 4 where such flag or signal element is displayed for clear visibility from the residence of the owner.

To accomplish this purpose the post 18 and signal 17 must rest in the upright position upon the detent 22 in a condition of unstable equilibrium. In other words, the post 18 and flag 17 are biased in the upper position to a suppressed rotational movement in a left hand direction as viewed from Figure 2.

This biasing action may be accomplished in a number of ways. For instance in Figure 2 it will be seen that the detent 22 is offset to the left from the axial line of the shaft 19 whereby the post 18 assumes a slightly inclined position to the vertical. Or the weight of the fiag 17 extending off to the left of the post 18 will tend to over balance the post when moved off the detent 22.

The trigger 21 also performs a double function as more particularly seen in Figure 6 in that when the flag 17 drops down and causes rotary movement of the shaft 19 in the bearings 20 it will be accompanied by the rotation of the trigger 21 to an angular position where such trigger will strike against the bottom 11 as a stop and hold the signal 17 in a pre-sel'ected position favorable for view from the owners residence.

The parts may be made of metal or other suitable material. When mail is removed from the mail box the owner again places the signal in the perpendicular position of Figure 1 by rotating and axially sliding shaft 19 and the bearings 20 so that the signal 17 assumes the upright original position indicated in Figures 1 and 2.

Although some attempts have been made in the prior art to provide signals for a similar purpose a device according to the present invention has many advantages Patented Sept. 23, 1958 may be a metal rod round inoversuch'prior structures, some'of which'are-as follows: With the present invention there are no mechanical parts to get out of order, no springs to become weak,

crystallize, break etc. and no parts requiring oil and grease. There are no rivets to wear out or shear. ofi. To. attach the device it is not necessary to. make any additional holes in the mail box which would permit rain or the elements toenter. No parts of the device are on the inside of the boxto hinderorinterfere with the placing or removing of .mail. There are no parts inside or outside to interfere with the putting in or taking out of mail box. The device can be removed from one box and placed on another box. There are no parts to wear out or need replacement. The signal can be seen from either side of road or street. The signal ,can beeasily replaced to normal position from front of box when mail is removed.

Although I have disclosed herein the best form ofv the invention known to me at this time, I reserve the right to all such modifications and changes as may come Within the scope of the following claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A mail box signal device comprising detent means adapted to bemounted on the rear wall of the box, a

signal carrying post cooperatively related to the detent 25 means and slidable and rotatable relatively thereto to assume a substantially upright attitude in engagement with the detent means and subsequently a more rearward position free of the detent means so that the signal may drop to a signalling position, slidable and rotatable operating means connected to the post, bearing means for said operating means adapted to be afiixed to the bottom of the box, and a trigger on the operating means positioned in the path of opening movement of the box door.

2. A signal deviceas claimed in claim 1 characterized in that the signalcarrying post is held by the detent means in a condition of unstable equilibrium whereupon on release the post and signal will automatically drop by gravity to a signal display position, and further in that the trigger is angularly related to the operating means to encounter the box bottom as a stop on rotary move ment of the post to signal display position.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,573,879 Seibel Nov. 6, 1951 2,613,031 Joyce Oct. 7, 1952 2,807,410 Ward Sept. 24, 1957 

